Bowyer: Postponement was not in the script

Gary Bowyer in conversation with the officials before they took the decision to call the game off

The official took the tough decision to postpone the match following his second inspection of the Bloomfield Road pitch.

He found the waterlogged pitch was unplayable and would endanger the safety of the players.

The game was eventually called off just after 2pm, not long before tributes were due to begin for Blackpool legend Jimmy Armfield.

The memorial inside the stadium went ahead as planned, with supporters allowed free access to the ground.

Bowyer said: “I don’t think it was in the script for the game to be called off but I understand why the referee did because he was talking about the safety of the players..

“But I think the supporters of Blackpool Football Club, the supporters of Charlton, Karl Robinson, the Charlton players and the Charlton board have been absolutely fantastic.

“The manner in which everyone has conducted themselves has been phenomenal.

“It’s a tough one, isn’t it? If you were here at 11.15am, the game was off. It was as simple as that because the pitch was flooded.

“Stan has worked his socks off to get it to the condition it is now. He was never in doubt that the game would be on.

“But there’s still some water on the pitch that could have caused the ball to stop, which then makes it dangerous for the players.

“It’s a difficult decision for him but I think he’s handled himself ever so well in the sense he had a tough call to make. It’s not just calling a game off, it’s calling off a game that comes after the tributes to Jimmy Armfield.

“He’s had to put that aside and make the right call. It’s better to be here speaking about that rather than speaking about an injury that somebody suffered because the game was allowed to go on.

“Once he made the call I thought the way that everybody acted was unbelievable."